Writing 101 Day 14: To Whom It May Concern – SLEDGEHAMMER’s final message

Day Fourteen: To Whom It May Concern

Today’s Prompt: Pick up the nearest book and flip to page 29. What’s the first word that jumps off the page? Use this word as your springboard for inspiration. If you need a boost, Google the word and see what images appear, and then go from there.

EYES ONLY: For attention of General Talbot – message received 0300 this morning

MESSAGE BEGINs:

**EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION – OPEN COMMS NO ENCRYPTION**

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

FROM: Field Agent ID: Sledgehammer

TO: Maria Hill (*1), or anyone who can pass this message on to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Please forgive the informal nature of this message.

I have moments to live and to be brutally honest I’m all out of *CONTENT REDACTED* to give right now.

For the past two hours I have been trying to make contact with Mr. Stark and there’s been no response. I have had to breach safe communications protocols and send this on an open frequency because my position has been compromised and what I know mustn’t die with me.

Since the revelation of Hydra’s existence and the fall of Triskellion (*1) I’ve been off the reservation so to speak. When the curtain fell in Excelsior Base I found out I was the only S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the room. Let me tell you it was brown trousers time and I only just got out of there in time.

I had no orders and no mission. I was going to come in from the cold and report to Director Coulson when fate intervened – I intercepted a communique from Baron von Strucker to Excelsior and for the last two years I’ve been tracking him. Man lives for purpose as they say.

I’m guessing someone got my previous message yesterday and passed the details onto the Captain with final confirmation on his co-ordinates in Sokovia. A dozen of my contacts died getting this information so I trust they and I have not sacrificed our lives in vain.

Judging by their sudden jump in activity over the last 24 hours they’re going to be ready for you.

That’s not why I’m sacrificing my life in sending this message. In the last hour I’ve taken down a HYDRA courier and made a shocking discovery.

From what little I’ve been able to decrypt Von Strucker has been developing a device which could impact the entire globe. I’m no tech but it appears to be a global impact weapon delivery system unlike anything seen before using a substance called Terrigen (*3)

If you are receiving this message you must lkhlidfh lknlds meomn sdndfnnew 345ed 5f49d4ef8dj67yt88krh

It’s a sign of my roots. I don’t write for film. I see the film in my head and novelize it. I could do a post about how my generation was one of the first that watched TV and film more often than it read growing up and how it reads differently to previous generations and why that’s affecting which books become popular. What do you think?